Nearly two decades ago, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of memories that my dear grandmother had preserved in cardboard boxes and carefully tucked away in her bedroom closet. To my delight, I reached inside and felt the whispers of history as they brushed against my fingertips.

She had carefully opened, read, and then saved every letter that her children had ever penned to her, recounting tales of wartime escapades and the adventures and trials some of them faced as missionaries in West Africa.